Classic Mini

Matt Sayle said:
What are the chances of getting a classic mini for <£1000 that doesnt need a heap of work.

I dont mind a bit, just not a lot!!

Thaskn
Matt
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Your insides will be shaken to a jelly. and the answer is...........

............not a lot!
 
Go for a Ka, cheap to buy, cheap to insure, reliable and bags of fun to drive even in basic form. Missus has had a couple and they are a blast round the country lanes here.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
If you want to be pedantic then the BL car is a Mini, the BMW one is a Handbag - that's how BMW distinguish the two...
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Get a Ka. Easy to work on, more modern, reliable and cheap. Probably lower insurance group too.
 
nilagin said:
Get a Ka. Easy to work on, more modern, reliable and cheap. Probably lower insurance group too.
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:boxer:

The Ka...more modern? :thinking: It has the same basic engine that was in the 105e Anglia from 1960 :lol:
 
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The engine is pretty crude - its basically the Kent engine. Nothing great, but dead simple and easy to work on. Bit Girly yes. Lots of fun though. Always come back from a run to the shops in my wifes Sportka with a huge grin on my face :)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
:boxer:

The Ka...more modern? :thinking: It has the same basic engine that was in the 105e Anglia from 1960 :lol:
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Galaxy66 said:
A pushrod engine :lol:
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Whats wrong with the old pushrod? Easy to work on, easily tuned if you wish to go that route. Same engine Cosworth cut it's teeth on. The handling dynamics of the car surpasses alot of other cars of similar size. By modern I meant to the car compared to the Mini. As for a Fiat 500 :cuckoo: Italian poo and the new one is just another handbag. The new Ka which shares the same platform and hardware is a much better looking car and with Ford's tweaks I'm sure will be the better car.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Apart from it being a rattly piece of antiquated junk? :shrug:
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The KA was only supposed to be a brief run on a cheap platform. The fact its been on sale pretty much unchanged for more than 10 years and still sold well is testament to how good it is.
They only rattle if you don't service them.
 
nilagin said:
Fiat 500
MINI
Micra
Metro
VW Beetle (Latest)
Honda Civic (Egg)
SMART
BMW 3 Series
Toyota Land Cruiser
BMW X Series
Clio
Twingo
2CV
Megane
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Yup, "girly" :lol:

armoured_toyota_landcruiser_options_page_icon2.gif
 
If you think the Mini was bad for rust you'venever owned a Metro :lol:

The only part that didn't rust or fail was the main plastic part of the dashboard :bang:
 
The Ford Ka was designed primarily for women, there was a big thing about it on a design program. The first car ever where women where ever poled as to what they wanted from a car. At one point something like 90% of people owning one where women, or gay men, weather that percentage has changed or not i dont know, i remember it well though as a guy at work brought onewhen they first come out, so i recorded the repeat of the program just for him, and he got some stick for too.
 
Ford Ka all the way. However, my personal preference is for one of the earlier models. The Misses had an "S" reg from new and it was great.

A wheel in each corner and 1297 CC of P.P.P.Power......

And insurance group one, if I recall correctly, so economical as well.
They are a lot of fun to drive, and have split rear folding seats, as well as a cup holder that takes a large Mcd's drink (an often overlooked neccessity in a vehicle :))

And a grand should get you a good one.

The newer ones are more plastically on the inside and have a really cheap looking rubber gaiter for the gear nod. Ok, you can cut is off, but its a ball ache. The interior plastic also is a different colour, and the glove box isn't as good.

The older ones also have a navy blue plastic bumper (if not body coloured, which the older ones weren't) and it looks better than the black.

If you do find one with faded bumpers, you can GENTLY use a heat gun to bring the origional colour back.
 
Time to own up. I have a Ford Ka :nuts:

I've had it for about 3 years now to replace my aging Fiesta. I don't know what compelled me to buy one at the time, I really don't. But what I can say is its been a great little car to me and given me literally no trouble in the time I've owned it apart from a broken water hose clip. Keep them well serviced and check the tappets every 6-12 months and it won't rattle at all. Cruises the motorway nicely and handles extremely well with wider wheels and tyres on it.

Seriously for the money you'd struggle to do better, and the insurance is so cheap its great.

(Oh and get one of the first ones with no power steering, for that manly feel :D)
 
lawrie29 said:
If you do find one with faded bumpers, you can GENTLY use a heat gun to bring the origional colour back.
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A far easier (and safer)way is to rub peanut oil into the bumper, leave it for a few hours and then wipe it off and coat over with some Autoglym Bumper gel
 
What i am worried for you Matt id have loved to have a Metro like that, provided it was a genuine 6r4 with that nice v6 lump. Be a bit pants if it had the same 1.0 engine mine had, suprisingly fun car, just ashame they where so easy to get into (stolen)
 
:lol: It would help. Although I doubt I would keep it for long if I got a proper 6R4. It would either be lose my license or set the 6R4 up on a blind date with a tree :lol:
 
You'd be better with the one in the pic then. You'd be too embarrased to go out in public with it, so you wouldn't crash :lol:
 
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